Save the Children Names Let’s Grow Kids CEO Aly Richards as a Changemaker for Children

BURLINGTON, Vt. (June 12, 2019) – Save the Children, the first global movement for children, has named Let’s Grow Kids CEO Aly Richards as a Changemaker for Children. As part of celebrating its 100th year of changing children’s lives, the global nonprofit is bestowing the honor to individuals who have raised their voices and used their influence to drive change for children in the United States and around the world.

A Save the Children Changemaker for Children can be anyone who is helping ensure every last child has the opportunity to grow up healthy, educated and safe—and who believes in a child’s right to a future.

“We are incredibly proud to celebrate Let’s Grow Kids CEO Aly Richards as a Changemaker for Children in our centennial year,” said Carolyn Miles, CEO of Save the Children. “Every single day, people around the world are doing tremendous things for children, and Aly Richards is a part of this committed group helping to ensure kids have what they need and changing children’s lives for the better.”

As CEO of Let’s Grow Kids, Richards leads a statewide movement working to ensure affordable access to high-quality child care for all Vermont families by 2025. She just returned to full-time work from maternity leave. She began searching for child care when she was 10 weeks pregnant, but it wasn’t until her twin boys turned six months old that she found a lead for a part-time spot in a high-quality child care program.

“My partner and I are so lucky to have good jobs with great benefits. We have supportive family nearby and a solid social support network. But even with all our advantages, we’re cobbling together child care and facing many of the same obstacles endured each day by families in Vermont and across the nation,” Richards said. “So just imagine what families are going through who do not have these supports. It’s unfathomable that we let this happen as a society.”

Richards career has been driven by a passion to give every Vermont child a strong start in life.

“Early childhood is our best opportunity to make the biggest impact that we can on our future. I look at my baby boys and I think about the fact that their brains are forming one million new neural connections every single second. The interactions and experiences they have in the first five years will profoundly impact their future success in school, relationships and life. This is why giving all children access to high-quality early care and learning programs is so critically important. It’s the ultimate level playing field,” Richards said.

Before arriving at Let’s Grow Kids, Richards served as the deputy chief of staff for Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, where she led the Administration’s early childhood efforts—including winning competitive federal grants totaling $70 million and supporting the passage of universal pre-K, making Vermont the first state in the country to offer 10 hours of publicly-funded pre-K to all three- and four-year-olds.

“I’m so very honored to be partnering with Save the Children to shine a spotlight on this absolutely crucial issue,” Richards said.

In 1919, Save the Children was founded by the original changemaker for children, Eglantyne Jebb. Eglantyne started a campaign to save suffering children across Europe following World War I. She saw a wrong and was determined to make it right. Save the Children was born from this idea and commitment to the world’s children. A visionary in her belief that children have individual rights, Eglantyne dedicated her life to holding the world accountable to ensuring children’s rights are realized. 

About Let’s Grow Kids:
Let’s Grow Kids is a statewide movement to make Vermont the best place to raise a family and our mission is to ensure affordable access to high-quality child care for all Vermont families by 2025. We work with business, education and health care leaders, elected officials and local communities to build a high-quality child care system and our network of over thirty thousand supporters includes dedicated volunteers who advocate for increased public investment in child care to make it affordable for all Vermont families. 

About Save the Children:
Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Since our founding 100 years ago, we’ve changed the lives of more than 1 billion children. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.